40

                                    

                                          
"What are you doing up so early?" Rip asked as he approached Baby, who was fully dressed and leaning against the paddock 
". . Couldn't sleep" honesty in her voice 
"You hesitated" he noted 
"Yeah, I was debating on lying, but I didn't see a point" she shrugged 
"How're you holding up?" standing next to her 
"Still hurts to move my jaw, still hard to eat, getting easier to breathe" she listed "so, that's a plus. I'm just so fucking bored. I read all the books I have, and I'm waiting on Bethy to get back to me on those notes"
"It's called healing" he chuckled "come on to the bunkhouse. We'll fix you a cup of coffee. It's cold out" holding on to his side 
"Oh, got something for you" digging into her coat pocket
The other coat she had worn was covered in too much blood, and her father didn't want to raise any questions by having it dry cleaned. So he made the choice of burning it, but he is going to buy her the exact same one in the same size, something Baby was thankful for. But in the meantime, she was wearing a much older coat. She pulled out a bottle of painkillers, a low dosage of oxycodone, handing it over to him as they walked to the building. 
"Shit, that's the good stuff too" he said, taking the bottle and looking at it 
"You need it more than I do" she shrugged
"Thank you" looking at her 
Baby gave him a small nod, Rip opening the door for her as he put the pills in his pocket, all conversation stopping at the sight of his noticable limp and the bruises on her face, Ryan instantly standing from his seat, walking over to her, 
"Fucking Christ, Baby" Lloyd said, walking over to her as she removed her hat 
"It looks worse than it feels" she smiled 
"Who did this to you?" anger in his voice 
"It's already been taken care of" she assured ". . Old Blacky came in handy" 
The switchblade he had given her was his own, he had it for a long time and thought Baby should have it for added protection, but he didn't think she would ever have to use it. Lloyd looked at her for a moment, giving her a small nod before walking to the pot of coffee to pour her a cup. If what happened to her was taken care of, 
". . Is that one of mine?" she asked, looking at the book in his hand 
"Uh . ." He trailed off ". . No?" putting it behind his back 
"Says L.M. Raven on the back" Ethan pointed out 
"Fuck you" putting the book in his pocket 
A chuckle emitted from her as his cheeks slightly reddened,
". . You're a good writer" he shrugged 
Her smile never left as she as she leaned up, claiming his lips with her own, ignoring the cheers and whistles from the other wranglers, Ryan instantly complying after a moment. The two of them pulled away, Ryan leading her over to the table, letting her sit down in his seat as a cup of coffee was set down in front of her. 
"Thank you" she said 
"No problem" he smiled "if you're gonna be out in the field today --"
"My ass will stay in the saddle" she assured "I wasn't aware that I use my core muscles for just about everything, so . ." gesturing to her bruised stomach 
Ryan sat down next to her, grabbing his on cup to finish off his own coffee, no one else saying anything or commenting on the bruises they could see. She knew that if they did, they'd get yelled at by Rip or Lloyd. The woman was lucky that she wasn't as injured as Beth, who had been in worse condition, most of her bruises were on her face, while Baby's bruises were more focused on her stomach. She picked up her cup, bringing it to her lips and taking a drink of the liquid gold, closing her eyes and letting out a small hum, nodding her head slightly, lowering it as the hot liquid began to warm her bones. 
∆
Baby kept her word, making sure her ass stayed in the saddle that was strapped to Ebony, who was more aware that she was in pain and made sure to be gentle with her. Spirit wasn't that aware of her emotions just yet, but he was getting there, it would just take a little more time and a few more rides. When their work was done, Baby, Ryan and Colby lingered behind the group as they headed back toward the main house, talking about, well, shit. 
"To be truly fluent in English, you must know your shits" Ryan said 
"What does that even mean?" Colby asked 
"There are different variations of shit" Baby replied "dogshit, bullshit, horseshit, apeshit, batshit, chicken shit, rat shit, no shit, holy shit, hot shit, dipshit, tuff shit, jack shit, the shit"
"I still don't know what the fuck that shit means!" looking at her 
"Dog shit means very poor quality" she explained "bullshit -- not true. Horseshit -- nonsense. Apeshit -- rambunctious. Batshit -- insane. Chicken shit -- that is self explanatory. Rat shit -- poor quality. No shit -- obvious. Holy shit -- mind blowing or unbelievable. Hot shit -- very good. Dipshit -- that's Jimmy"
"A total dumbass" Ryan added 
"Exactly" nodding her head "tuff shit -- take it or leave it. Jack shit -- nothing. The shit -- perfection" 
"I can clearly see why you two just gravitated to each other" Colby said, gesturing to the two 
"Don't worry, you'll find love too" she assured "you know what?" pointing to him "I'm gonna set you up with someone. Maybe we'll hire another girl that'll bring out something in . . all this" gesturing to him 
"What the fuck ever" he scoffed, urging his horse to run forward 
"Don't run from the love!" Ryan called out 
"Fuck both of you!" amusement in his voice 
"Thank you" Baby said ". . for coming to save the day" looking at Ryan "and I'm sorry --"
"Thanking me for helping you is something you don't ever have to do, darlin'" he replied, looking at her "I'm sorry are two words you never have to say to me"